The Agence de Mise en Valeur du Patrimoine et de Promotion Culturelle (AMVPPC) has paid a posthumous tribute to Tunisia's oldest doctor and the first woman doctor in the Arab world, Dr Tawhida Ben Cheikh (January 2, 1909 - December 6, 2010). The agency published an extract from the book "La Tunisie Millénaire, une Longue Histoire et des timbres poste" by Taoufik Ben Salah, published in 2012, which traces the history of Tunisia from prehistory to the present day. Taoufik Ben Salah, an economist by training and a lover of history and philately, published this work on the history of Tunisia through stamps, from the Paleolithic period to the Tunisian January 14, 2011 Revolution. Tawhida Ben Cheikh comes from a family originally from Ras Jbel (Bizerte). She was the first Tunisian to graduate from high school (1928). She obtained her doctorate in medicine in Paris in 1936. On her return to Tunis, she set up a private practice specialising in gynaecology. She then contributed to the establishment of family plan ning in Tunisia through the department she set up at the Charles-Nicolle hospital in 1963, followed by the Montfleury family planning clinic in 1970. Between 1955 and 1964, she headed the maternity ward at the Charles Nicolle Hospital. She ran the same department at the Aziza Othmana Hospital until she retired in 1977. In addition to her medical work, she dedicated her life to militant action in the service of Tunisia. In 1937, she was put in charge of the first Tunisian women's magazine, "Leila", published in French in Tunisia in 1936. She was also vice-president of the Tunisian Red Crescent and a member of the Union of Tunisian Muslim Women. Tawhida Ben Cheikh is the niece of the late Tahar Ben Ammar, who negotiated Tunisia's independence in 1956 and signed the Memorandum of Understanding with France on March 20, 1956. A banknote bearing the image of Dr Tawhida Ben Cheikh has been in circulation since March 2020. She is the second woman to appear on Tunisian currency after Elissa, the founder of Carthag e. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse The declaration by the pope calling on catholic priests to advocate the catholic faithful to embrace same-sex marriage has continued drawing criticism with a priest saying it may end up splitting the church. Father Emmanuel Bungei of St. Joseph the worker Catholic church said the declaration was quite confusing, especially for Christians in Africa who believe that marriage is meant between a man and a woman. Speaking when he delivered a homily as the church marked the feast of the Holy family, the priest said blessing such a couple would mean that the church condones the practice yet it is against the preaching of the Catholic Church and the Bible. The priest said God created man and woman to further the human race which he said is not possible when people of the same sex come together. On his part Fr. John Muindi of St. Charles Lwanga Catholic church said blessing such a couple is the same as blessing sin terming it as a foreign concept which is not acceptable as it is against the beliefs of the African people. Fr. Muindi said while he has no problem blessing the congregants as that is the work of a priest, he cannot solemnize same-sex marriage. Fr. Bungei however said marriage can be complete without children saying children are a gift from God citing Abraham and Sarah who he said lived for long until God blessed them with their son Isaac in old age. Noting that the Catholic Church considers the family to be the basic unit of the church, the cleric called on Christians to guard the family calling on each member to adhere to their roles saying while parents should provide and guide their children, children are supposed to respect their parents. The priest said while problems in the family are normal, how to address them has become quite a challenge which has led to the breaking up of families. 'Instead of a couple sitting together to address their problems they resort to social media broadcasting their problems to the world. These days it is easy to know what is happening in families just by checking pe ople's status on WhatsApp, Facebook, and others,' the priest said. He stressed the importance of families putting Christ at the center of their lives through praying together and seeking the Lord's counsel whenever problems arise. The priest called on parents to teach their children the virtue of giving saying this will ensure that they will also give to them in old age saying it's in the family that great people in the society are molded. Source: Kenya News Agency
